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Partnerships in the Electronic Age: Challenges & Solutions
14th January 2000 during the ALA Midwinter Meeting

Introduction to the Workshop and Discussion
List of ALA 2000 Workshop Attendees
1. Real Solutions For Archiving � Collaboration?
2. The Article vs. The Journal as Currency
3. Marketing on Campus: Promoting Electronic Products To End Users
4. The Value Of Secondary Indexes Compared To Full Text Article Availability?
Responding to the discussion
The Library Link Workshop Series
Future MCB University Press & Library Link Workshops


WORKSHOP INTRODUCTION

Following on from the success of previous workshops held during IFLA 1998 and 1999, and ALA Midwinter 1999, another Library Link/MCB workshop was held on Friday 14 January 2000 during the ALA Midwinter Meeting. The format used allows for online discussion before and after the workshop itself. The main subjects for debate are:

  1. Real Solutions For Archiving � Collaboration?
  2. The Article Vs. The Journal as Currency
  3. Marketing on Campus: Promoting Electronic Products To End Users
  4. The Value Of Secondary Indexes Compared To Full Text Article Availability?

Michelle Kelly, Head of Academic Relations: MCB, opening the workshop



1. REAL SOLUTIONS FOR ARCHIVING - COLLABORATION?

Prior to electronics the role of archiving was traditionally undertaken by librarians. With the advent of electronics and the technological infrastructures that accompany them, the issue has been an inescapable conundrum for all members of the publishing value chain.

For the first time ever we have to consider the implications of obsolescent software and hardware, digital preservation and the limited life of storage media. We need to define what an electronic publication is and its eligibility for deposit.

We have canvassed opinion at our Library Link workshops held at the ALA Midwinter 1999 and IFLA 1999 with the following outcomes:

  • Responsibility for archiving should be with a third party.
  • Libraries and publishers need to look at the economic models and consider scalability i.e. what are we willing to pay for?
  • There should be a movement towards standardisation.
  • Libraries and publishers should lobby for changes in legislation and funding to support archiving.

DISCUSSION GROUP 1 SUMMARY

It was agreed from the outset that archiving as a means of ensuring the permanent accessibility of digital materials, was to be the focus of discussion.

It was suggested that print-outs of digital resources could be archived. However, this would not take in the features of information resources which are purely digital in nature, e.g. hyperlinks. It was also noted that digital resources can be static or dynamic. The Web sites of Y2K US Presidential candidates are an example of the latter. These will be important resources for scholars in the future, the authenticity of which also needs to be preserved. Software exists which takes snapshots of the visible Web, but that is only one part of the process.

Discussion Group 1

The issue of responsibility for archiving was discussed. Since it has yet to be resolved, it was noted that in the interim, MCB-UP is providing libraries with a copy of the digital resource they subscribe/d to via CD-ROM (tagged data and software to enable it).

RLG is currently working on guidelines to define what constitutes a digital archive and standards. They will cover:

  • What constitutes a digital resource eligible for archiving
  • Whether it is necessary for every library to archive all its resources
  • Who is responsible for the different stages in the process.

It was noted that a 3rd party, rather than either libraries or publishers, should be the lead body. A non-profit was felt to be most appropriate, though not OCLC. JSTOR is a partial model of what is needed. See BIC http://www.bic.org.uk/digpres

The question was also asked - what if the archive develops an economic value in its own right?



2. THE ARTICLE VS. THE JOURNAL AS CURRENCY

There has been much speculation as to whether the 'traditional' journal will survive in its existing format, i.e. as a collection of articles brought together by a subject specialist editor.

Increasingly, more databases are being launched with excellent search facilities. And, as e-mail alert services become more sophisticated and more customer focused they will identify the specific articles that meet the requirements of the users (i.e. their areas of interest).

How different is that from what an editor does in a journal?

What is required? Breadth of choice or the selectivity of an editor and editorial advisory board?

One research scientist I know of has been heard to say that the last thing he wants is a database. He knows that the articles he wants to read will be in 2 or 3 journals that he can name.

What about book reviews, conference reports, diary dates etc. - how valuable are these?

DISCUSSION GROUP 2 SUMMARY

It was established that journals and articles are different methods of organising the body of knowledge. Others are pre-prints, coursepacks, and footnotes. Each has its pros and cons, but the intrinsic value is in the scholarship which goes into the work being "organised".

Nevertheless, value can be added to a work of scholarship.

Preprints do not add any value. They are atomic, not peer-reviewed/authenticated. Journals add value by bringing together a set of articles which are quality controlled/authenticated by the peer review process. The serendipity which a journal brings also adds value.

Discussion Group 2

Aggregating journals into databases builds on this propensity for serendipity, as databases cut across journals and disciplines. With the advent of reference linking this is enhanced even further.

Therefore the issue is not one of article v. journal, when the former is still part of the latter. The real issue is Economics v. Scholarship and Science.



3. MARKETING ON CAMPUS: PROMOTING ELECTRONIC
PRODUCTS TO END USERS

How can librarians best promote electronic acquisitions to end users? As libraries grow their collections of electronic journals and databases, end users must be made aware of their availability, applications, coverage, benefits and options for access. Many librarians are utilising a plethora of media to direct users to electronic holdings.

Key questions include:

  • How can librarians influence the use of electronic products?
  • Should electronic products be promoted separately?
  • Which media are most effective for promoting electronic products to end users?
  • What barriers need to be overcome?
  • How can faculty members help?
  • How can publishers help?

DISCUSSION GROUP 3 SUMMARY

The group felt that the marketing of electronic resources should be a collaborative effort between publishers and libraries.

Publishers should provide strategic and conceptual - not just product-focused � input. Publishers can also help with examples of best practice, which libraries can customise, e.g. tutorials. Posters and flyers are the physical methods preferred. Marketing on the Web is expensive; therefore collaborative efforts are needed between libraries.

Marketing efforts need to be targeted at each of the distinct segments of the market for electronic resources: students, researchers and teachers. Each has different needs, which need to be assessed. Publishers should market to users direct, in collaboration with the library, as well as to librarians.

Discussion Group 3

Marketing efforts should be benefits-oriented. Therefore for students they need to focus on their need for information which is quickly accessible, at the time they want it, in the format they want it, where they want it. Marketing efforts to faculty need to be informing, as many do not feel they need educating.

Marketing efforts also need to be directed to the funders of libraries, and combine print and electronic rather than dealing with each medium separately.



4. THE VALUE OF SECONDARY INDEXES COMPARED
TO FULL TEXT ARTICLES

With an increasing number of publishers' databases delivering full text content, what is the value of secondary indexes within the research community? Secondary indexes, particularly in the form of abstracting & indexing services, offer access to the wider literature, much of which may not be available electronically in other primary indexes.

Key questions include:

  • What role do secondary indexes play within the research community?
  • Can they act as a gateway during the early stages of research?
  • Does the lack of full text limit their attractiveness and usefulness?
  • Can they complement and increase access to primary indexes?
  • Are they effectively integrated into library catalogues (OPACS)?
  • What does the future hold for secondary indexes?

DISCUSSION GROUP 4 SUMMARY

The group felt that secondary indexes can add more value in the electronic world than they did in print only.

They are a means of searching across information resources irrespective of medium � they connect print and electronic. They are also a means of searching multiple publishers' information resources, and searching across disciplines simultaneously.

Discussion Group 4

Because many now link to full text, users are starting to see them as one-stop-shops: a way of accessing information from start to finish. The value of secondary indexes is therefore enhanced when they are both an index and a repository.

It was noted, however, that different disciplines are used to looking at different depths of information. Also that what is easy to get because of all the above, is not necessarily the best.

It was suggested that secondary index publishers would add even more value, if they linked to other quality resources on a subject for users.



RESPONDING TO THE DISCUSSION

If you wish to comment on any of the matters raised in the ALA 2000 workshop please visit the Library Link ALA Discussion Area where you can discuss the issues with other like-minded individuals. If you are wishing to discuss one of the four main points outlined above then please click on the relevant point, entitled:

  1. Real Solutions For Archiving � Collaboration?
  2. The Article Vs. The Journal as Currency
  3. Marketing on Campus: Promoting Electronic Products To End Users
  4. The Value Of Secondary Indexes Compared To Full Text Article Availability?
and select the 'respond to this post' at the foot of the message. This will keep the four threads clearly distinguished. Of course if you feel that there are valuable points that have not already been raised then please feel free to begin a new, clearly-titled, thread.

Workshop Summary



THE LIBRARY LINK WORKSHOP SERIES

Details of previous Library Link workshops and discussions can be found be clicking the following links:

The Library Link Workshop Series
IFLA 98 Workshop Summary
IFLA 98 Online Discussion Archive
ALA 99 Workshop Summary
ALA 99 Online Discussion Archive
IFLA 99 Workshop Summary
IFLA 99 Online Discussion



FUTURE MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS & LIBRARY LINK WORKSHOPS

Details of further Library Link workshops will Library Link site nearer to the event. Anyone interested in attending should contact Eileen Breen at [email protected].


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